Integrated storage and transfer system and method for spacecraft propulsion systems

ABSTRACT

A system, a portable propellant loading tank and loading method for bipropellant spacecraft servicing to load propellant into a spacecraft. The spacecraft has a propellant storage tank with a propellant input and a vent output. The system comprises a portable propellant loading tank for storing and transferring propellant that is couplable to the propellant input of the propellant storage tank in the spacecraft. The propellant loading tank is a stainless steel tank that is electropolished on its interior surface. A portable weighing system having a plurality of load cells provides output signals indicative of the weight of the propellant loading tank. A load cell readout device is coupled to the portable weighing system for providing an output indicative of the weight of the propellant storage tank. A receiver tank is coupled to the vent output of the propellant storage tank in the spacecraft. A second weighing system having a plurality of load cells provides output signals indicative of the weight of the receiver tank. A second load cell readout device is coupled to the second weighing system for providing an output indicative of the weight of the receiver tank. A helium supply is provided and a pressure load panel is coupled between the helium supply and the propellant loading tank for providing pressure to transfer the propellant to the propellant storage tank in the spacecraft. One method of loading propellant into the spacecraft comprises storing and transferring propellant in a portable propellant loading tank, temperature conditioning and helium saturating the propellant in the propellant loading tank, transferring the loading tank to a launch site, coupling the loading tank to the propellant storage tank, and pressurizing the portable propellant loading tank to transfer the propellant to the propellant storage tank in the spacecraft.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to propellant transferringsystems for use with spacecraft propulsion systems, and moreparticularly, to an integrated storage and transfer system and methodfor storing and transferring propellant to a spacecraft for use by aspacecraft propulsion system.

The assignee of the present invention manufactures and launchesspacecraft that use onboard thrusters to orient and reposition thespacecraft while it is in orbit to optimize its location andorientation. Two part propellent, or bipropellant as it is known,comprising fuel (hydrazine) and oxidizer (N₂ O₄), is loaded intoseparate storage tanks on the spacecraft prior to launch. In operation,the two bipropellant liquid propellants are combined in a plenum undercomputer control to cause operation of selected thrusters to achieveproper spacecraft orientation.

In the past, an elaborate procedure has been used to obtain, transportand load the bipropellant liquid propellants into the spacecraft. Thisprocedure is time consuming, costly, and poses many unnecessaryenvironmental and safety risks. This procedure is described withreference to FIG. 1 of the drawings. More specifically, FIG. 1 shows aprocedural flow diagram illustrating a conventional procedure (10) foracquiring, shipping, and loading bipropellant liquid propellants into aspacecraft. Suppliers of the hydrazine and oxidizer liquid propellantsindependently fill (11, 12), as required, enough fifty-five gallon drumsof fuel and small oxidizer containers of the respective propellants tofill an order. The fifty-five gallon drums and small containers are usedbecause of Department of Transportation requirements for transportingthe highly toxic and hazardous bipropellant materials to the spacecraftlaunch site. The loaded fifty-five gallon drums of fuel and smallcontainers of oxidizer along with fuel and oxidizer servicing carts areshipped (13) to the launch site.

At the launch site, the fuel cart and fifty-five gallon fuel drums areset up and prepared (14) for fuel transfer. Similarly, the oxidizer cartand the small oxidizer containers are set up and prepared (15) foroxidizer (N₂ O₄) transfer. A molecular sieve is prepared 16 that is usedduring cart service to remove iron (Fe) from the N₂ O₄ oxidizer. Thishas heretofore typically occurred during all propellant loadingoperations. Fuel is then transferred (17) from the fuel drums into afuel service cart. Oxidizer is then transferred (18) from the smallcontainers into an oxidizer service cart. These two steps are repeatedto transfer the fuel and oxidizer from each require fuel and oxidizercontainer into the respective fuel and oxidizer service carts. After thefuel and oxidizer is fully transferred to the respective fuel andoxidizer service carts, each respective cart is sampled (19, 21) todetermine if there is any contamination of either of the liquidpropellants due to the transfer. Thereafter the propellants areconditioned 22 for a period of five days. This conditioning operationensures that the temperature of the propellants are substantially thesame as that of the spacecraft, and provides for helium saturation ofthe fuel and oxidizer. Thereafter, the respective fuel and oxidizerservice carts are further pressurized (23) using helium to force thefuel or oxidizer out of its respective cart and into the respectivestorage tanks in the spacecraft. The loading equipment, molecular sieveand carts are then cleaned (24) per Department of Transportationrequirements for hazardous materials shipment. The fuel and oxidizerdrums are then cleaned (26)and returned to the respective supplier ordisposed of, as the case may be. The oxidizer propellant container isreturned (26) to the supplier for refill and reuse.

As should be clear from the above description, this procedure (10) iscomplicated and time-consuming creates environmental hazards, andpotentially exposes support personnel to injury. The procedure takesapproximately thirty-five days to complete for a typical spacecraft.This long time period and the required sampling has contributed greatlyto the costs of loading propellant into the storage tanks in thespacecraft.

Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide fora system and method that improves upon this conventional procedure andprovides a highly efficient, cost-effective and environmentally safemeans for obtaining, transporting, and loading the constituentpropellants into a spacecraft.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to meet the above and other objectives, improved ground supportequipment (GSE) has been designed and built for bipropellant spacecraftservicing along with a new loading procedure to implement propellantloading into the spacecraft. More specifically, the present invention isa propellant loading system for use with a spacecraft comprising fueland oxidizer propellant storage tanks that have respective propellantinputs and vent outputs. The system comprises portable fuel and oxidizerpropellant loading tanks (containers) for storing and selectivelytransferring propellant to the respective fuel and oxidizer propellantstorage tanks in the spacecraft. Each propellant loading containercomprises a cylindrical stainless steel tank that is electropolished onits interior surface. A portable weighing system is provided thatcomprises a plurality of load cells for providing output signalsindicative of the weight of the respective propellant loading tanks andpropellant. A load cell readout device is coupled to the portableweighing system for providing an output indicative of the weight of thepropellant loading tanks and propellant. Fuel and oxidizer receivertanks are coupled to the vent output of each respective propellant tankin the spacecraft. A second weighing system is provided that comprises aplurality of load cells for providing output signals indicative of theweight of the respective receiver tanks. A second load cell readoutdevice is coupled to the second weighing system for providing an outputindicative of the weight of the receiver tanks. A supply of inert gas,such as helium or nitrogen, is provided and a pressure load panel isselectively coupled between the inert gas supply and the propellantloading tanks to provide pressure for forcing the liquid propellants outof the propellant loading tanks and into the propellant storage tanks inthe spacecraft.

A method of loading propellant into a spacecraft comprises storing andtransferring propellant in portable propellant loading tanks, whichtanks also allow for gas absorption conditioining and temperatureconditioning of the propellants. Temperature conditioning of thepropellants is performed using the portable propellant loading tanks. Byhaving the vendor/supplier perform post-load helium pressurization tothe propellant loading tanks (temperature versus pressure), the postload equilibrium pressurization of the spacecraft storage tanks may bemore precise, since accurate modeling of helium gas saturation in theliquid propellants is performed. This provides for a more accurateprediction of the pressure in the spacecraft storage tanks after loadingso that storage tank pressures comply with applicable launch site andlaunch vehicle safety requirements. After coupling the propellantloading tanks to the respective storage tanks in the spacecraft and thenselectively pressurizing the portable loading tanks, the propellant istransferred to the respective storage tanks in the spacecraft. Themethod may further comprise weighing the respective propellant loadingtank (and propellant therein) during propellant transfer, venting therespective propellant tank in the spacecraft to a receiver tank, andweighing the respective receiver tank J (and propellant therein) duringpropellant transfer, wherein the amount of propellant transferred to therespective propellant storage tank in the spacecraft equals thedifference between the measured weights.

The ground support equipment of the present invention allows spacecraftpropellant loading at the required pressures at launch sites to occurwhile meeting all applicable launch site and spacecraft processingfacility requirements. The bipropellant spacecraft loading operationsare performed in the same way as on previous spacecraft manufactured bythe assignee of the present invention, such as Intelsat, HS-393 andearly HS-601 and HS-376W spacecraft. The spacecraft loading methodologydoes not change, but the ground support equipment does and the overallloading procedure is new and improved. The new ground support equipmentis a portable system. The major difference between the present and priorsystems is that the propellant loading tanks replace the 55 gallon drumsand the smaller oxidizer containers, replace conventional fuel andoxidizer service modules and provide for advanced conditioning of thepropellants. By eliminating the respective service modules the followingoperations have been eliminated, thus resulting in an improvedpropellant loading procedure. The operations that have been eliminatedinclude fuel cart set up and servicing, fuel sampling, oxidizer cart andmolecular sieve setup and servicing, oxidizer sampling, fuel cartdeservicing, oxidizer cart and molecular sieve deservicing, drumdecontamination clean up, hazardous material removal, elimination ofFreon and isopropyl alcohol (except for spacecraft deservicing), andpropellant thermal conditioning.

In the present invention, the molecular sieve is no longer required. Thepropellant loading containers are multi-functional, serving aspropellant shipping containers and spacecraft servicing tanks. All ofthe propellant loading tanks are DOT (110A500W) approved and UNidentified. All tanks are internally electropolished to prevent iron(Fe) from the container from being leached into solution in the N₂ O₄oxidizer. The tanks are designed to streamline launch base activitiesincluding shipping and sampling. Heretofore, propellant sampling wasperformed at the launch site after the fuel and oxidizer had beentransferred from their respective shipping containers into the loadingcarts. This sampling procedure was required to validate that the loadingcarts and propellants were in compliance with specification limits. Byeliminating propellant transfer into the loading carts at the launchsite, sampling is not required at the launch site. Liquid propellantcompliance to military specifications is verified by chemical analysisperformed by the supplier after loading of the propellant loading tankand prior to shipment. Contingencies for launch site sampling must bemaintained, however, to provide schedule insurance should a tank bedamaged or develop a minor leak during transport. Helium saturation ofthe fuel and oxidizer begins at the time the supplier fills thepropellant loading tanks and propellant thermal conditioning may beginas soon as the containers arrive at or near the launch site.

By implementing the above operations, launch activities are streamlined,launch processing costs are reduced by more than fifty percent. Totalspacecraft propellant loading is reduced from 35 to 17 days,environmental concerns are addressed, and the highest standards ofquality and safety are maintained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various features and advantages of the present invention may be morereadily understood with reference to the following detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein likereference numerals designate like structural elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a procedural flow diagram illustrating theconventional procedure for acquiring, shipping, and loading bipropellantliquid propellants into a spacecraft;

FIG. 2 illustrates a bipropellant loading system in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram illustrating a procedure foracquiring, shipping, and loading bipropellant liquid propellants into aspacecraft using the bipropellant loading system of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4, comprising FIGS. 4a-4c, illustrate three views of the propellanttank used in the bipropellant loading system of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 shows a detailed schematic of a bipropellant loading systemadapted for loading fuel or oxidizer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the drawing figures, FIG. 2 illustrates a bipropellantloading system 30 in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention. The bipropellant loading system 30 is adapted to loadbipropellant liquid propellants into a spacecraft 31. The bipropellantloading system 30 shown in FIG. 2 is illustrative of one half of theloading system 30, such as is used to load fuel, for example. A secondsubstantially identical portion of the system 30 is provided for loadingoxidizer. Only the most relevant components of the system 30 are shownand described with reference to FIG. 2.

The bipropellant loading system 30 is comprised of a plurality ofportable fuel and oxidizer propellant loading tanks 32 (typically two250 gallon tanks 32) that are used to transfer and store fuel andoxidizer. Each propellant loading tank 32 is disposed on a weighingsystem 33 that includes a plurality of load cells 34 that are adapted toprovide output signals indicative of the weight of the propellantloading tank 32 disposed thereon. The output signals are coupled to aload cell readout device 35.

A receiver tank 36 is disposed on a second weighing system 37 thatincludes a plurality of load cells 38 that are adapted to provide outputsignals indicative of the weight of the receiver tank 36 disposedthereon. The output signals are coupled to a second load cell readoutdevice 39. An pressure load panel 41 is coupled to an inert gas supply42 (helium or nitrogen ) by way of a valve 43. The helium supply 42provides pressure to the system 30 to transfer the fuel or oxidizerpropellants to the spacecraft 31. The pressure load panel 41 is coupledto a pressure input of the propellant loading tank 32 by way of twovalves 60, 46. An output of the propellant loading tank 32 is coupled byway of primary outlet valves 44, 45 to fuel or oxidizer valves 47, 48that are coupled by way of respective valves 50, 51 to propellant (fuelor oxidizer) storage tanks 49 in the spacecraft 31.

A vent valve 53 is coupled to each of the propellant storage tanks 49 inthe spacecraft 31 and provides an outlet path for fuel and oxidizer thatboils-off or overflows during spacecraft loading to prevent vaporlock-up. This fuel and oxidizer boil-off or overflow is captured,weighed, and stored in the receiver tank 36. A plurality of valves 57,54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59 are provided to control the boil-off of fuel andoxidizer through the system 30 and to the receiver tank 36. The valves59, 46, 45, 44, 47, 48, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, thepressure load panel 41, and the receiver tank 36 are conventional andthis type of valve arrangement has been used in the past to transferfuel and oxidizer liquid propellants to the spacecraft 31.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram illustrating a procedure (70) foracquiring, shipping, and loading bipropellant liquid propellants intothe spacecraft 31 using the bipropellant loading system 30 of FIG. 2. Inthe procedure (70) manufacturers and suppliers of the N₂ O₄ oxidizer andmonomethylhydrazine (MMH) fuel fill (71, 72) the respective propellantloading tanks 32 with fuel and oxidizer. The manufacturer or supplierthen samples 73 the fuel and oxidizer in each loading tank 32 to verifythat there is no other contaminants therein, and helium saturation ofthe liquid propellants is also accomplished. The manufacturer orsupplier of N₂ O₄ oxidizer verifies that the low iron content does notexceed the N₂ O₄ =Mon³ (Fe) MIL Specification requirement and that thereare no other contaminants therein. Each manufacturer or suppliercertifies that the contents of the fuel and oxidizer loading tanks 32meet military specifications prior to shipment.

Prior to spacecraft servicing, the certified liquid propellant loadingtanks 32 are shipped or otherwise transferred (74) into the designatedhazardous processing facility where the spacecraft 31 is to be loadedand staged for temperature conditioning (75) for a period of five days.The temperature conditioning (75) ensures that the temperature of thepropellant is substantially the same as that of the spacecraft 31, andprovides for final checking and adjustment of helium saturation of thefuel and oxidizer. The respective fuel and oxidizer propellant loadingtanks 32 may be further pressurized (76) with helium so that the fuel oroxidizer is forced out of the portable loading tank and into therespective storage tanks 49 on the spacecraft 31. After the spacecrafttanks are loaded, the pressure load panel 41 is purge dry cleaned ordeserviced (77) with gaseous nitrogen. The propellant loading tanks 32are then returned (78) to the respective manufacturer or supplier forrefill and reuse.

FIG. 4, comprising FIGS. 4a-4c, illustrate cutaway side and respectiveend views of the propellant loading tank 32 used in the bipropellantloading system 30 of FIG. 2. The propellant loading tank 32 is a 304Lstainless steel tank that is electropolished on its interior surface.The loading tank 32 has an input fitting 95 that is coupled to thepressure load panel 41 by way of the valves 44, 45, and an outputfitting 96 that is coupled to the spacecraft 31 by way of specific onesof the valves 46, 47, 48, depending upon whether the loading tank 32 isused for fuel or oxidizer. The loading tank 32 includes a number ofinspection ports 97 and a tank bonnet 98 to protect the input and outputvalves 45, 46 during transit, and a sealing gasket 99 to provide asecondary seal. The loading tank 32 may have a length of about 102inches and a diameter of about 30 inches with a wall thickness of about1/2 to 5/8 inches, for example. The loading tank 32 is made to withstanda pressure of about 500 psig. The tank 32 is generally constructed in aconventional manner, but is made from 304L stainless steel whichrequires different welding and other processes than carbon steel and hasthe electropolished interior surface, making it different fromconventional fuel and oxidizer tanks.

FIG. 5 shows a detailed schematic of the bipropellant loading system 30which may be used to load fuel or oxidizer. In addition to the elementsdescribed with reference to FIG. 2 above, additional components areshown in FIG. 5 such as regulators 82, gages 83, couplings 84, filters85, relief valves 87, check valves 88, control valves 89, an aspirator90, a sight glass 61, and stainless steel tubing 91. The "plumbing" ofthe system 30 is considered routine in the art and will not be describedin detail. It is believed that those skilled in the art are readilycapable of interconnecting the loading tanks 32, receiving tanks 36, andstorage tanks 49. The bipropellant loading system 30 includes propellantmonitoring device 81, a receiving system 40 comprising the receivingtank 36 and associated weighing system 37, 38, 39, a pressure load panel41 used to control the transfer of propellant, the propellant loadingtank 32 and weighing system 33, and the spacecraft 31.

An operational summary describing the use of the present inventionfollows. The following operations occur during bipropellant loadingoperations for an HS 601 spacecraft 31 in concurrence with approvedspacecraft servicing procedures. The propellant loading tanks 32 arestaged in a launch site fueling facility to provide for 5 day (120 hour)temperature conditioning. The weighing system 33 is positioned in thefueling room. A preload calibration and functional checkout of theweighing system 33 is performed. The pressure load panel 41, lowpressure monitoring device 81, receiver tanks 36 and the bipropellantloading system 30 are set up in an area adjacent the weighing system 33and spacecraft 31.

The oxidizer propellant loading tank 32 is placed on the weighing system33. After all line hook-ups are made, an overall leak check isperformed. Fuel and oxidizer are then separately transferred to thestorage tanks 49 in the spacecraft 31. After the storage tanks 49 havebeen loaded with fuel/oxidizer, the propulsion loading system 30 ispressurized to a designated flight pressure. Following the aboveoperations the spacecraft fill and drain valves are closed and secured.The propellant loading lines to the spacecraft 31 are aspirated, vented,disconnected and capped. The remaining residuals are pressure drainedinto their respective receiver tanks 36. The valves on the respectivetanks 32, 36 are closed, capped, secured and staged for return shipment.The above operations are repeated for loading fuel into the spacecraft31 using the fuel propellant loading tank 32. The bipropellant loadingsystem 30 is deserviced using a gaseous nitrogen purge. This eliminatesthe use of Freon and other cleaning solvents that create hazardouswastes. After the deservicing operation, the equipment is secured andpackaged for return shipment.

The portable propellant loading tanks 32 serve as a propellant shippingcontainer that is DOT approved and UN identified and support propellantloading of the spacecraft 31. The propellant loading tanks 32 areinternally electropolished. The electropolishing prevents the stainlesssteel from releasing iron (Fe) into solution in the N₂ O₄ oxidixer.

The portable weighing system 33 is a mechanical scale that supports thepropellant loading tanks 32 and measures propellant offload duringloading of the spacecraft 31. This allows the proper fill fraction byweight or mass to be provided and verified. The weighing system 33 isconstructed of stainless steel with four hydraulic load cells 34. Theelectronic readout 35 includes explosion-proof switches and is encasedin explosion-proof hardware meeting all HAZMAT regulations.

The pressure/loading panel 41 is designed to act as a dual system. Thefirst system assists in transferring propellant from the propellantloading tanks 32 into the storage tanks 49 in the spacecraft 31. Thesecond system supports post-load pressurization of the spacecraft 31.The pressure loading panel 41 allows an operator to have easy access tothe spacecraft liquid fill control valves and greater visibility forpressure monitoring during propellant transfer and post loadpressurization of the spacecraft 31.

The receiver tanks 36 are the same as have been used in previous loadingoperations. The receiver tanks 36 are used to receive fuel and oxidizeroverflow and onload boil off. Each receiver tank 36 comprises a 50gallon stainless steel tank designed to the ASME pressure vessel codewith a 4:1 safety factor, having a maximum operating pressure of 100psig. During spacecraft propellant transfer operations, the receivertanks 36 is placed on the second weighing system 37. The receiver tanks36 is tared out so the propellant residuals are precisely measured. Thesecond weighing system 37 is constructed of stainless steel with fourhydraulic load cells 38 and an electronic readout device 39. Theelectronic readout device 39 is encapsulated in an explosion-proofenclosure that meets all HAZMAT launch and safety requirements. Thereceiver tanks 36 contain no mechanical pumps and operate with externalpressure sources.

Two small hand portable low pressure monitoring devices 81, identifiedand dedicated to either fuel or oxidizer service, are used to monitorthe initial pressure and transfer of propellant into the spacecraft 31and to prevent damage to propellant measuring devices that are internalto each propellant storage tank 49 in the spacecraft 31. Each device 81contains a pressure gauge 83 (0-12 psig), redundant relief valves 87,two hand control valves 89, and associated tubing 91.

Thus there has been described a new and improved integrated storage andtransfer system and method for storing and transferring propellant to aspacecraft for use by a spacecraft propulsion system. It is to beunderstood that the above-described embodiment is merely illustrative ofsome of the many specific embodiments which represent applications ofthe principles of the present invention. Clearly, numerous and otherarrangements can be readily devised by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A container for storing, transporting andtransferring propellants to a spacecraft propellant tank of a satellitepropulsion system during launch preparation operations, wherein saidcontainer is comprised of stainless steel having an interior surface andan exterior surface, and wherein said interior surface iselectropolished, and wherein said container further comprises a firstvalve that is couplable to an inlet of said spacecraft propellant tankof said satellite propulsion system during said launch preparationoperations for loading propellant into said container and fortransferring propellant out of said container and into said spacecraftpropellant tank of said satellite propulsion system during said launchpreparation operations, and a second valve that is couplable to an inertgas supply and that comprises a pressure input for supplying pressurizedinert gas to said container during said launch preparation operations,which inert gas provides pressure to transfer propellant from saidcontainer into said spacecraft propellant tank by way of said firstvalve.
 2. The container of claim 1 further comprising a protectivebonnet that covers and protects the first and second valves, and agasket located between the bonnet and the exterior surface of saidcontainer, and wherein said gasket provide a secondary seal.
 3. Thecontainer of claim 1, said container having a generally cylindricalportion and having two outwardly convex end portions.
 4. The containerof claim 3 wherein said first valve and said second valve are centrallylocated in one of said end portions.
 5. The container of claim 4 furthercomprising a protective bonnet that covers and protects the first andsecond valves, a gasket located between the bonnet and the exteriorsurface of said container, and wherein said gasket provides a secondaryseal.